Forever Nevermore
by BlackMage16
Summary: AU- Set in the present day, a death of a young socialite has rocked the streets of Konoha. Everyone is calling it suicide but Naruto is not convinced and sets off on his own investigation.
1. Prologue: Fall

Standing there, right on the edge, the rush is incredible, indelible.

The wind is intense, slapping against your face, hair streaming away in the onslaught.

Opening your mouth to scream, your voice is snatched away, vanishing into the dark night sky.

Cold fills your entire being- exhilarating, intense, terrifying!

Feet balance precariously on the edge, one step forward or back and it's over. The small bar isn't a sufficient platform to stand on, but it's oh-so-cold, just like the freakish wind- fierce, unrelenting, uncaring!

Your heart is going like a drum.

Your inadequate clothing snaps back and forth in the frigid conditions against your thin, wiry frame.

It can't keep you warm.

You shiver, relishing the movement.

You lift your arms up, out and wide, fingers spread to catch the wind.

A gesture of welcome, a symbol of release.

A clear laugh escapes your frozen lips, ringing in the cold air.

Eerie, haunting, a premonition of doom.

A small smile dances on your lips- perhaps it's time.

But........ Remember- _Don't Look Down!_

Eyes clamped shut, arms outstretched, laugh still tinkling in the wind, you lean forward- slowly, surely- to embrace the storm.

Fall.

_ ~Quoth the Raven "Nevermore"_

** Edgar Allen Poe, The Raven**


	2. Chapter 1: First Death

**Forever, Nevermore.**

_~Once upon a midnight dreary, while I pondered, weak and weary,  
Over many a quaint and curious volume of forgotten lore,  
While I nodded, nearly napping, suddenly there came a tapping,  
As of some one gently rapping, rapping at my chamber door.  
"'Tis some visitor," I muttered, "tapping at my chamber door —  
Only this, and nothing more."_

**Edgar Allen Poe, The Raven**

**One**

"Yo!" A loud voice cut above the general babble of the quad at Konoha University, most people ignored the speaker a tall, blond male with markings on his cheeks. He was well known around campus for his boisterous manner and most just learned to deal with it. On very few occasions there'd be someone who took offense and then things would spiral out of control…………………..

but today wasn't one of those days.

Uzumaki Naruto ran through the quad towards his friends, lounging around a small table, waving a magazine as he shouted enthusiastically.

"Hey guys, did you see it?" He called, knocking into the tall, dark-haired figure of his best friend.

"See what, idiot?" The dark-haired male gave his friend a black look.

"The match last night, Sa-su-ke." Naruto stuck his tongue out at his friend, enunciating each syllable of his name. "In which the Konoha Tigers _destroyed _the Suna Dragons….., like I told ya they would. "

"Ha, looks like Naruto won that bet, Sasuke. Better pay up." Laughed the male sitting on Sasuke's right. He had unruly brown hair and red tattoos on either side of his face.

"Shut up, Inuzuka." Sasuke growled as he reluctantly pulled out his wallet. Only to have it yanked out of his hand by Konoha U's resident lazy genius, Nara Shikamaru.

"Hey!"

"Don't you think there are more pressing matters then whether you won a bet or no." The lazy genius said, sitting down beside his rotund friend, Chouji.

"Heck no, Nara! Give me back my wallet." Sasuke snarled, standing up.

Shikamaru tossed the wallet back at the Uchiha heir, who promptly stuffed it back into his pocket.

"Haven't you guys heard?" Shikamaru continued.

"Heard what?" Kiba grumbled, clearly peeved that their 'game' had been interrupted, he'd been looking forward to taking a dig at _Sa-su-ke_.

"Heard the latest news that's been taking Konoha U by storm." Shikamaru brandished the paper he'd been carrying, placing it onto the table in front of all his friends.

On the front page of the '_Konoha Times'_ were the words 'SOCIALITE FOUND DEAD!' emblazoned across in thick bold text, under which, was a picture of the deceased – a pretty dark-haired female.

"That's Kiyoko-chan?" Chouji sputtered, his bag of chips falling out of his hands.

"The one and only." Shikamaru affirmed, leaning back to allow a better view of the paper for the rest.

"What's it say?" The usually silent Aburame Shino asked the question that was on everyone's mind.

Picking up the paper, Sasuke cleared his throat and read:

'_In the early hours of this morning, the body of 21-year old socialite Fujimida Kiyoko, the daughter of the formidable Yoshio of the Fujimida Coporation, was found outside the Suzuki building lying in a pool of her own blood ……..'_

* * *

"Dead!" Yamanka Ino exclaimed, her blue eyes widening in shock. "This is prime gossip."

"Ino!" Her brunette friend admonished. "This is serious, don't you feel any remorse."

"It IS shocking but Tenten she wasn't exactly a friend of mine." The tall blonde replied, as they made their way to the eaterie.

"B-but somebody d-died. D-doesn't that s-s-scare you?" Hyuuga Hinata stuttered, her lavender eyes wide with fear. Her family had known the Fujimida's personally and the death of the beautiful Kiyoko had come as a shock.

"Well, ye-ah. When you put it that way." Ino said reluctantly, as they got in line for food.

"By the way," Ino continued, abruptly changing subject. "Have any of you seen Sakura?"

"Why do you ask, aren't you guys roommates?" Tenten said sceptically. "Didn't she tell you where she went?"

Ino rubbed the back of her neck sheepishly, Sakura had left a vague note stating that she had some business to take care of and would see her in class later.

"Y-you don't suppose.." Tenten began, looking at her two friends meaningfully.

"W-what? Y-you think she was called in to help." Hinata's eyes seemed to widen even further as comprehension hit the three girls.

"Lets go meet the guys." Ino smiled mischievously. "I think we've got our selves some prime gossip _indeed_.

* * *

"_Did you hear?"_

" _About Fujimida?"_

"_I can't believe she's dead!"_

"_How do you think it happened?"_

"_Heard it was a suicide!!"_

* * *

"This isn't appropriate, Naruto!"

"W-What?? You said to pick a topic for our proposal! This is mine."

"A critique about the Icha Icha series doesn't show journalistic integrity for an undergrad."

"But Iruka-sensei!!"

"It's the content of Jiraiya's work. He isn't called the ero-sannin for nothing."

"He's the best-selling author in Konoha. People are interested in his work."

"You're doing a journalism course, sure some reporters write reviews on books but I was expecting something ... current and _relevant_! I'm sorry Naruto but you need to change your topic."

Slamming the door as he left the classroom, Naruto found his friends loitering outside the door.

"Yo, how'd it go?" Shikimaru asked in his usual bored drawl.

"What are you guys doing here??" Naruto wasn't in the mood for these idiots.

"Whoa settle down there, tiger. We just curious is all." Kiba held his hands up in a gesture of peace.

"My proposal got shot down. Said it wasn't appropriate!!"

"I told you that, idiot. Besides no one, besides our perverted tutor, is interested in that crap!!" Sasuke said not bothering to sympathise. Naruto shot him a dark look which he chose to ignore. "Its lunchtime now, so let's eat."

* * *

"_Suicide!!?"_

"_For real?"_

"_But Kiyoko had it going for her. Seems like a waste."_

"_Another one bites the dust."_

"_Oh my God!"_

* * *

"Sakura-chan!!"

"The hell you want, Sai."

"What's wrong with me calling you Sakura-chan?"

"Buy me a coffee and you can call me whatever the hell you want."

"I could do with a coffee myself."

Offering an arm to his pink-haired friend, the exhausted pair headed to the eaterie.

"By the way.... _hag_... you look like shit." Sai said. Sakura shot the brown haired artist an acid look.

"You don't look much better yourself." She replied. "Been up all night?"

"The Fujimida case, they needed a photographer and the usual guy was on vacation." Sai sighed, pulling a hand through his hair.

"Ah. I got called in too. The coroners assistant was sick, and I'd been interning in the morgue so.." Sakura trailed off, looking paler then she already was.

"Argh.... that must be hard."

"Yep."

"Been avoiding the guys?"

"Yea, you?"

"Hell yeah. Not looking forward to be quizzed."

"Tell me about it, I know Ino is dying to get her hands on me." They both sighed.

The eaterie was jam-packed with students not simply because it was the lunch-hour but because it was a prime breeding ground for gossip. Stories flew around becoming stranger and stranger with each telling. Fujimida Kiyoko was pretty famous in Konoha as her family were big wigs in the Fire Country and was well known for her wild-partying but after death she had gained a sense of notoriety. Some people were spreading tales about her joining a weird cult which encouraged dying to gain enlightenment, others told of drugs and abusive partners, some even had the alien abduction/ murder story going. A common element in all these tales though was the as yet unconfirmed verdict of suicide.

"Where is she?" Ino huffed at their table. She was itching to dive into the whirlpool of gossip, being herself a prime gossip-monger. However, she wanted to check the facts with Sakura first so she can have a back-up to her tales.

"Geez, Ino. A girl just died and all you care about is spreading lies about her. Didn't your mother ever tell you to leave the dead alone." Shikamaru snapped at Ino.

"My reputation is on the line here."

"I c-can't b-believe that she's dead." Hinata stammered, still in evident shock.

"None of us can believe that a youthful flower such as Kiyoko could be extinguished at such a young age." Rock Lee proclaimed, tears streaming down his cheeks.

"Hey, look there's Sakura-chan." Naruto yelled. "And why's she with Sai, I thought they hated each other."

"Well, well, well. They both look _exhausted_ and they've linked _arms_ and he's buying her _coffee_. This is absolutely _scandalous_!" Ino said, a mischevious expression on her face.

"Ino!" Tenten warned.

"I can't help it. It's what I do."

"Well un-do it."

"Hi Sakura, Sai." Sasuke greeted his two friends.

"Rough night, forehead?" Ino asked suggestively.

"Nice to see you too, pig." Sakura replied. "Oh and thanks for the coffee, Sai."

"Thanks for last night." Sai said, a slow smile on his face.

"Right. Last night..... it was disturbing."

"Wasn't it."

"Ohmigawd, you guys were totally doing it." Ino blurted out, not quite believing the exchange between the two. Sakura and Sai just looked at the blonde blankly.

"No, my Sakura-chan has gone to the dark side!!" Naruto wailed.

"Since when have I been _yours_?"

"Since when have we been _doing it_?"

"But, you just said....."

"Somebody just _died_. Stop being so conceited." Chouji interrupted. "Kiyoko-chan is dead and she... she ain't coming back."

"P-poor Chouji, he r-really liked her. Kiyoko was always so kind to him." Hinata patted Chouji on the back.

"I think most guys liked Kiyoko, she was hawt!!" Kiba added.

"She didn't look very pretty last night." Sai said.

"Sai."

"Come on Sakura, you saw her too."

"Wait! By last night you meant you guys were called in." Naruto said. "So lucky!"

"What's the verdict?" Neiji asked, as interested as everyone else.

Sai and Sakura looked at each other, Sai shrugged and turned away.

"Come on, tell us."

"I don't know."

"You do."

"The autopsy hasn't been carried out yet. It was just an initial examination."

"And..."

"Looks like suicide."

The table went quiet at that declaration. Then at the same time, they all exploded.

"Suicide?"

"No freaking way!!"

"..........."

"What a waste."

"Are you sure?"

"Damn."

"Kiyoko-chan wouldn't do that?" Chouji said firmly, silencing the table once again.

"I agree. She didn't seem like the suicidal type." Neiji added.

"It's gotta be foul play." Tenten said.

"But that's just the thing. There is no evidence of anything suggesting foul play. The only injuries came from falling off the Suzuki building, and before you ask there was no evidence of a struggle of any kind, she simply fell of her own accord." Sakura stated.

"No shit." Kiba breathed, expressing in words what everybody else felt.

* * *

Leaving from the last lectures of the day, Naruto and Chouji walked to the pizza place on the east side of campus where the gang usually met up at the end of each day. Partway down the corridor, they met up with Kiba and Sakura. Naruto was still annoyed about having to change his proposal for his journalism class.

"Damn Iruka-sensei."

"What's wrong?" Kiba asked

"He made me change my freaking proposal."

"Wait, is this that stupid idea of yours to critique that old pervs works?" Sakura asked.

"Hell, I thought it was genius idea. It would be awesome to read _'Icha Icha' _for an assignment." KIba retorted.

"High five, man." Naruto said.

"It doesn't matter if it's fun. It just doesn't have much to do with _investigative journalism_. Besides we're undergrads and we gotta follow rules. Hell if you want to do a PhD. on smut in literature then go for it, but you won't be doing journalism anymore with that." Sakura replied.

"You can do that for a PhD." Kiba asked, incredulously.

"You're right, I want to do something proactive and journalism seems like the right way to go." Naruto said.

By this point they'd just left the building and were walking in the grounds when...

"Where's Chouji?" Sakura asked.

"He was right here a second ago."

"Oh....."

Retracing their steps the three of them found Chouji standing by a makeshift memorial which the student body had put at Kiyoko's favourite bench. Flowers, teddy bears, and cards filled the space as people expressed their grief.

"Chouji, are you okay, man?"

"Just still in shock."

"We all are."

"I just can't believe that Kiyoko-chan would commit suicide."

"I can't believe it either."

"But you said...."

"I said, it looks like suicide not that it was. There are some murderers who are good at covering their tracks and making it look like something else."

"Like that guy in Suna last year? What's his name?"

"That's it!!"

"Huh." Kiba, Sakura and Chouji turned to look at Naruto, who was suddenly jumping around like a maniac.

"I've got it. My new proposal, and no one can say it's not investigative journalism."

"Dude, what is it?"

Naruto grinned at his friends, a strange glint in his eyes as he announced...

"I'm gonna prove that Kiyoko Fujimida was murdered!"

* * *

**A/N: Whew!! That took a while. This is officially my first Naruto fanfiction (I have written 2 before- but removed them so.....). Hope you guys like****. It's gonna be a rather odd story- essentially set in present day, a murder mystery unfolds. The chapter before is supposed to be what happened to Kiyoko Fujimida (an OC in case you haven't noticed) as she died, but as you'll undoubtedly see nothing is ever as it seems. The poem may or may not have much relevance to the story, though it did inspire the opening (previous chapter) and gave me a title- it might even turn up in the story..... Anyhoo reviews would be greatly appreciated, part of this chapter was written months ago and some written just before uploading so the pace may be a little odd. Damn this authors note is long. Well enjoy, that's all from me folks. Next chapter should be up soon. Ja ne. ^-^**


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